Meetings & Programs

Jim Wright

Jim Wright, long-time "Bird Watcher" columnist for The Bergen Record and other New Jersey newspapers, will speak about his book The Real James Bond, the story behind the noted naturalist/adventurer from Philadelphia and the world’s greatest identity theft

Featured are the genuine James Bond's iconic Birds of the West Indies, his solo Caribbean expeditions -- and his enduring connection to Ian Fleming.

Jim's other books include The Screech Owl Companion, The Nature of the Meadowlands, Jungle of the Maya, and Hawk Mountain. In his spare time, he spies on peregrine falcons for the state of New Jersey. He is the coordinator for the fall migration at the State Line Hawk Watch on the Hudson River.

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Prof Jennifer Uehling

Though most people bemoan the presence of bird poop, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure! Dr. Jenny Uehling will explore what we can learn from bird feces, covering topics such as DNA sequencing to identify bird diet and microplastic identification and quantification. Understanding what birds are eating, and how it can expose them to potentially helpful nutrients or harmful pollutants, allows us to better understand the relationship between diet, survival, reproductive success, and bird declines.

Dr. Jenny Uehling is an assistant professor at West Chester University. She received her PhD in Ecology from Cornell University and her BS in Biology and Environmental Studies from the University of Chicago. She studies bird behavior, with a focus on foraging ecology.

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Jennie MacFarland

The Desert Purple Martin (Progne subis hesperia) is a distinct subspecies that times its nesting to monsoon abundance and nests almost exclusively in saguaros or other large columnar cacti. Desert Purple Martins are extremely understudied with large gaps in knowledge about their nesting, migration, and wintering grounds. Very recent discoveries and data results will be shared along with lots of video and audio that showcases the charming and fascinating Desert Purple Martin.

Jennie MacFarland is the Director of Bird Conservation at Tucson Bird Alliance. She co-coordinates the Arizona Bird Areas Program with Tice Supplee and also coordinates the Tucson Bird Count, a city-wide, urban spring bird count.

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Shirley Klein

TBD

Bio TBD

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

LeeAnn Haaf, Samantha Collins & Lisa Ferguson

Tidal marshes are ecologically critical yet increasingly vulnerable coastal systems, and emerging research suggests that soundscape analysis may offer a novel, non-invasive approach to assessing their condition over time. To assess soundscapes and determine anthropogenic influences, we monitored 11 New Jersey tidal marsh along salinity and urbanization gradients. Audio data were collected and analyzed. We found that biological and anthropogenic sound were related to the degree of light pollution. Other preliminary results suggest that loudness was driven by a variety of factors, including the dominance of specific species and anthropogenic sounds.

LeeAnn leads science programming at the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE), where she oversees ecological research and assessments of the region’s tidal wetlands. With over 12 years of experience in scientific research and project management, she brings deep expertise and a strong commitment to environmental stewardship. A triple Dragon, LeeAnn holds a Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Drexel University.

Samantha Collins & Lisa Ferguson are associated with The Wetlands Institute.

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Speaker TBD

TBD

Bio TBD

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Zoe Warner

The Grassland Bird Collaboration (GBC), a program of Willistown Conservation Trust, addresses grassland bird conservation needs among Chester County’s agricultural lands and nature preserves. The GBC partners with farmers, landowners, and conservation organizations to implement management practices that benefit birds that rely on farm fields for survival. This talk features the work of the GBC to conserve sensitive grassland bird species while minimizing disruption to agricultural production among Chester County’s farmlands.

Zoë Warner is the GBC program manager and has been researching grassland birds in southern Chester County since 2014. She has a Ph.D. in Environmental Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Speaker TBD

TBD

Bio TBD

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Speaker TBD

TBD

Bio TBD

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Speaker TBD

TBD

Bio TBD

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Speaker TBD

TBD

Bio TBD

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Coordinated by TBD 

Every year, we end our meetings and presentations on the first Monday in June with a showing of members' photos.  If you would like to contribute and show your photos, below is the process for getting the photos to TBD.  This is quite a bit of work for the coordinator, so please get your pictures to TBD as soon as you can.

1. Maximum 50 photos per participating member
(depending on the number of people that want to show pictures, TBD may need to make a selection and pair the numbers down a bit.  We think the absolute maximum number of photos should not exceed 300.  E.g. if 7 people send 50 photos each, TBD will take out 7 photos per submission to bring it down to 301).

2. The photos need to be in JPEG format.  Ideally each photo file should be 2Mb or less.  However, if you don't know how to compress your files, TBD with do so himself if it becomes too much for the Powerpoint presentation file

3. Each file name should include the name of the bird.  If you want to also show on the slides the location where the photos were taken, please include the name of the location also in the file name, or include a Word document with the cross reference of location to the file name.  TBD will then make sure that the location is shown on the slides.

4. The photos should preferably be sent to TBD via websites such as DROPBOX or WETRANSFER.  These services are free if you don't exceed 2 Gb for the 50 photos combined.

5.TBD's email address is TBD

6. Please make sure to get your photos to TBD by May 15th at the very latest.  Earlier submissions are encouraged.

7. If you want to give the photos to TBD on a memory stick or a CD, get in touch with him via phone (cell: TBD) or via email to discuss day, time and location to hand over the memory stick or the CD, You can also mail a memory stick or CD to his home address at TBD.

NOTE: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.